Thousands Sign Petition To Save Indiana Beach, Meetup Planned

MONTICELLLO, IN — Fans of Indiana Beach Amusement & Water Park have started an effort to try and save it. As of Saturday, Feb. 22, more than 33,000 have signed a Change.org petition seeking to "Help save Indiana Beach," and the man who started the petition has a meetup planned to discuss the possibility of someone coming forward to save the popular Central Indiana summer vacation spot.

Indiana Beach closed permanently earlier this week after 94 years on Lake Shafer in Monticello. The petition is addressed to the Apex Parks group that has owned Indiana Beach since 2015 and others.

"As the news broke that Indiana Beach will be closing its doors our hearts are sad for our community," said Dustin Sprunger of Monticello, who initiated the online call for support. "We all have fond memories of summers gone by dancing at the roof, screaming on the roller coasters or floating the day away in the lazy river."

"But maybe hope isn't gone just yet," the petition continues. "Maybe, just maybe, someone out there can save our little jewel of a park."

Sprunger has a meetup planned for Saturday, Feb. 29, with hopes to "inspire someone to purchase and save our little park," according to an event promoted on Facebook. The date of the meetup is set for the same time Indiana Beach had originally been planning a job fair to help them hire for the summer season.

The "Save Indiana Beach Meetup" will begin at noon eastern time at the north entrance of the park.

"The goal of this meetup is to try to save the Beach by inspiring someone who has the power to save our park," the Facebook event posting reads. "We encourage you to make posters that say ' save Indiana beach,' 'I love Indiana beach' and so forth."